Many of the victims of the Himalayan catastrophe are Hindu. Professor Chinmay Pandya spoke to AsiaNews about the relief efforts of Gayatri Pariwar, a social organisation that brings together 150 million Hindus. For him, “Relief work therefore becomes a bridge between inner awakening and social responsibility.”
Titled Christaayan, it is the first movie about Christ situated in India and shot in Hindi. Directed by a Divine Verb priest, it involved more than 200 non-professional actors, 80 per cent non Christian. The six-hour epic will be broadcast as series on television.
Speaking to AsiaNews the Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples comments on the "sad" aggression of the Chinese Bishops' Council against Msgr Taddeo Ma Daqin, ousted for obeying the pope. The call to all churches to pray for the persecuted Church in China, Msgr. Ma and the bishops and priests in prison. A prayer for the new Chinese leadership after the Communist Party Congress, for an end to "methods of the past."
George Harrison gave the 92-year-old sitar virtuoso his nickname. During his long career, he was India's ambassador to the world, from the former USSR to the United States. Famous was his performance at Woodstock, in 1969. He also wrote many movie soundtracks, including that for 'Gandhi'.
In a world trying to stifle the longing for and the presence of God, they are a missionary tool because they draw even non-Christians to Church. The "hymn" of the auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, under house arrest for his loyalty to the Pope and Young Rimsha Masih, a 14 year old disabled Christian, accused of blasphemy, and later exonerated, in Pakistan, are just some of the "melodies" that we presented on AsiaNews during the year, their testimonies shine in the dark like the windows of a cathedral.
The film has already broke the box office in India and China. Technical quality, 3D animation, breathtaking images are the ingredients, but also a philosophical and religious inspiration.
Interview with Mgr John Barwa, archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar. He is on spiritual retreat 10-14 December) with his priests, victims of anti-Chritian pogroms. Fr Errol Fernandes is in charge of the retreat, centred on the Year of Faith. In 2008, the Jesuit priest met Hindu students at a Mumbai college to describe what was happening to Christians in Orissa.
Today is the International Day for Human Rights, whose theme this year is "My voice counts." In India the most serious violations relate to women, children, Dalits and religious minorities. Increasingly widespread violence of the police against peaceful demonstrators.
At the Angelus, Benedict XVI presents the figure of the precursor of Jesus. The Birth of Jesus, a historical event that "dispels every mythical interpretation". His contemporaries did not notice His birth, but "for God, the great men of history act as frame to the least." In his greetings to pilgrims in French, a reminder of the plight of migrants, marked by war or poverty. The call for a "fraternal and joyful solidarity."
The 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index report indicates all three nations are worse off this year. In Vietnam, uncertainty prevails amid scandals and bad management. North Korea continues to be at the bottom of the ranking. Myanmar and Cambodia are still in negative territory but have improved a bit.
In the act of veneration of the Immaculate in Piazza di Spagna, Benedict XVI said that big things, like Mary's Annunciation, occur in silence and go unnoticed in the "frenzy that characterise our cities." Through grace, Mary reminds us that the "power of God's love is stronger than evil, that it can fill the void that selfishness creates in the history of people," which "can become hell". For the pope, "Christianity" is a religion of joy, "good tidings," even if some believe it is an obstacle to joy because they see in it an ensemble of prohibitions and rules. [. . .] Jesus is the joy of Mary and the Church."
"Uncertainties" in Europe and the United States and slowing development of the Indian economy. New Delhi records a drop in production and a negative balance in exports. Recovery in China and very positive indices for the nations of Southeast Asia (excluding Singapore), a driving force for the entire continent.
The upper house (Raja Sabha) has approved the historic economic reform, with a majority of 123 votes against 109. Support of the 'minor' parties essential. Hindu nationalist party defeated. The opening to foreign capital should restart the country's growth.
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